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Bike bus leaders in Portland have pedaled into nearly a million dollars in a round of city grants. The nonprofit organization Bike Bus PDX was one of 60 projects approved for funding in the 2025 round of awards from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund.
The $895,000 will be used, in part, to expand the community-based program—where children bike to school in a pack along a predetermined route—to Title I schools, the organization says.
“Bike Bus PDX is excited to have been selected as an awardee,” says Lauren McCune of Bike Bus PDX and the ride leader at Southeast Portland’s Abernethy Elementary. “We are proud that Portland has 30 bike buses regularly running, more than any city in North America. This grant is a recognition of the hard work from our dedicated volunteers and partners across the City of Portland and greater Oregon Metro region. We look forward to working with PCEF to spread the joy of bike buses to more Title I schools across Portland.”
Title I schools, where a high percentage of students come from low-income families, face extra challenges getting bike buses rolling in their neighborhoods (“Tour de Tots,” Nov. 26, 2025). Bike Bus PDX’s PCEF grant includes developing a “Bike Bus Toolkit” to help establish new bike buses, hiring new bike bus cluster coordinators, and collaborating with Portland State University to study the impact of bike buses on long-term transportation behavior.
Portland bike buses have been going viral on social media this year, with pop stars Justin Timberlake and Benson Boone riding along with the Alameda Elementary and Vernon K-8 bike buses, respectively.
The city is giving out $64.4 million in funding for 60 different projects; the full list is available here. PCEF is an initiative passed by voters in 2018 that imposes a 1% sales tax on large retailers in Portland in order to fund climate-action efforts.
